Flight Line

The opening was a great success as I sold quite a number of the new paintings I’ve been sharing here on Muddy, and the gallery is eager to do another show in about two years. I already have plans to paint large, grand themes!

Initially, the gallery’s request was for me to paint whatever I wanted. Who wouldn’t love to hear that? But it also means that it comes with the responsibility to produce work that excites people. I’d learned many years ago that if I can focus enough to excite myself about a subject, then it’s more likely that a client will respond to that same excitement if I can get it across in the painting.

Flight Line was the first piece on my board, derived from my interest in raptors, aviation, and pilots. Combining a classic mythical creature with this theme seemed out of place, but oddly made sense. I made several sketches and still wasn’t sure that anyone would appreciate what I loved about it.

The image’s seed was planted from watching so many movies about WW1. The pilots rallying for their sortie. Similar to the canvas biplanes waiting along the dew grass flight line of the Lafayette Escadrille, the gryphons pull against the restraints of the mechanics who prep the beasts for launch, awaiting their individual pilot-trainers.

To build the image, I sketched each gryphon and pilot separately, then combined the pilots with their birds. I traced these sketches onto separate sheets of tracing paper and then laid them onto a main sheet so I could move them around, to find just the right composition. I projected that final sketch onto my canvas and traced it off. The finished piece is about 48” across and took several days. Lots to cover.

I’ve got a new world to write about now. The visual tease is enough for me to create the background history to flesh out the story. This is how stories start, especially for artists, and especially for the new crop of artist-authors that are coming up.

Flight Line was also the first painting to sell in the show, followed by Night Patrol which is also part of this same world.

Creating a moment that communicates emotionally with the viewer is the essence of Gregory Manchess’ artwork. A native of Kentucky, he spent two years as a studio illustrator with Hellman Design Associates before striking out on his own in 1979.
He combined his love for fine art and science fiction and began his freelance career painting for OMNI magazine. His versatility and broad range of interests allowed him to crossover to mainstream illustration. There he was able to expand his client work to include covers for Time, Atlantic Monthly, spreads for Playboy, Omni, Newsweek, and Smithsonian, and numerous book covers.
Manchess’ interest in history and his excellent figure work has made his paintings a favorite choice of the National Geographic Society on many occasions, including an expedition down the Fond du Lac river in Canada for the 1996 article David Thomson: The Man Who Measured Canada.
Widely awarded within the industry, Manchess exhibits frequently at the Society of Illustrators in New York. His peers at the Society presented him with their highest honor, the coveted Hamilton King Award in 1999, and a year later, the Stephan Dohanos Award.
Manchess’ work has also been recognized in the children’s book market. His latest children’s book illustrations narrate the story Cheyenne Medicine Hat about wild mustangs. A lavishly illustrated limited edition of Robt. E. Howard CONAN stories with over 60 paintings, is due out in 2010. He has recently finished 10 murals for a traveling exhibition on the Pirate ship, Whydah, for the Nat’l Geographic Society. His painting of the Oregon coast was used for the 2009 Oregon Statehood Stamp by the USPS.
Gregory is included in Walt Reed’s latest edition of “The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000.” He lectures frequently at universities and colleges nationwide and gives workshops in painting at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, and the Illustration Master Class in Amherst, MA.

I'm assuming a yes… Both paintings have become my new favorites. They both just snapped right away. Instantly I was right there. Flight Line is chock full of adrenaline, it's go time. And of course there’s gryphons with pilots! Fog Rider is tense, full of anticipation, my nerves on edge… waiting for something to move… loving it, living it, dreading it all at once.

It looks like you changed Flight Line's background subtly since the IMC. Did you add kicked up dust and heat ripples on the right side? and maybe removed mountains from the back ground or a hanger, or was that just part of a conversation we had one evening? I think what you added and what you left alone since the IMC all worked out great in the final peice.

The big questions are, you sold your paintings, how does that play into doing posters, or using the image in a future book? And does the buyer have limited rights on how they can use the original, can they sell their own copies if they choose to?

As for the technical questions….the buyers only own the original and have not purchased any rights, so are not entitled to do anything with it, except show the original. The rights aren't limited, they're nil. Always retain reproduction rights for your work. Unless the client is specifically buying certain rights, such as for advertising.

And to answer your question, Tora….I will be breaking the latest news about “Above The Timberline” on Muddy Colors very soon! : ) Thanks for asking!

Thanks for the Response greg… I'll second Tora's Huzzah! on “Above the Timberline”

In response the technical questions: so at the time of purchase you need to have a purchase and sale agreement that states “nil” rights of what the client is buying, Instead of just taking the check… …sounds silly, but I will have to remember this.